US to sign $60bn arms deal with Saudi Arabia

Tue, Sep 14, 2010, 01:00

IAN BLACK

PRESIDENT BARACK Obama is to go ahead with plans to sell Saudi Arabia advanced aircraft and other weapons worth up to $60 billion, the biggest arms deal in US history, in a strategy of shoring up Gulf Arab allies to face any military threat from Iran.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the administration is also in talks with the Saudis about possible naval and missile-defence upgrades that could be worth tens of billions of dollars more over five to 10 years.

Plans to go ahead with the package, which has been under secret negotiation since 2007, have been known for some time and have raised angry objections from Iran and to a lesser extent from Israel, an even closer US ally which is anxious to maintain its strategic edge over any potential adversary in the Middle East.

In its notification to Congress, the administration will authorise the Saudis to buy as many as 84 new F-15 fighters, upgrade 70 more and purchase three different types of helicopters – 70 Apaches, 72 Black Hawks and 36 Little Birds, the Wall Street Journalreported.

The package will be subject to a review by Congress.

According to earlier reports, the administration has already decided out of deference to the Israelis not to sell Saudi Arabia so-called stand-off systems, advanced long-range weapons that can be attached to F-15s for use in offensive operations.

The US is the world’s largest arms supplier and the Saudi deal alone is said to support up to 75,000 jobs. – ( Guardianservice)